I actually wrote my answer to today’s writing prompt for the last day of the November Nablopomo on BlogHer, “What did you learn from doing Nablopomo?” as yesterday’s blog post. I am always so ahead of the game. It was called, “Posting 30 Times This Month – Nearly There, Nearly Insane.” I did forget to mention one thing in yesterday’s post – that in the absolutely brutal past month, my daughter also was in a fender bender in my car. But things are starting to shape up today. I figured out a plan of attack for all the things that have to be done in the next few days (Action Lists!) in order to assure a smooth “next month” that starts tomorrow. Yikes! And the other driver’s insurance company is going to pick up our repairs. And I crossed off several items on my “find the paperwork” and “schedule stuff” lists. Feels good to be moving forward and getting a few things done!

Somehow, during the course of the day, today, I decided to do Nablopomo again in December. I’m such a freaking masochist! But I’m going to have my I’m Done Nesting blog be the participating blog in December. The theme for the month is “Gift” and you can read about the theme or find out how to participate on BlogHer, hint: you can sign up through the 5th.

I'll be posting every day in December on my I'm Done Nesting Blog

Okay, now I will respond to today’s prompt. What did I learn from doing Nablopomo this month? Well, first I was really hoping to win one of the prizes, but I guess that is a no go. * Sad Face* I learned that having something to focus on, such as a blog post done at the end of the day, actually can reduce stress. Next month I plan to learn that posting everyday can be fun and need not mean writing a research article every day. My brilliant and beautiful daughter will graduate from college this month, and my wonderful and witty step-daughter and her family (hubby and twin one year old daughters) will be here for much of the month, friends from a nearby state will pop in for a few days… and, well, basically there should be plenty of opportunity for photo-blogging, cute baby story posting, and for recipe evaluation. With any luck at all it will not be as difficult to post every day on a personal blog as on my business blog that has a professional nature and for which I have more stringent standards.

today I am thinking about
polka dots
birthday parties
babies that i love
but scarcely know

trajectories
unknown then
a mothers sister’s mother
loved me less than all her other mothers

in decades beyond remembrance
her toddler tentacles of charm
and distributed intelligence
ensnared me no less

caught
between daughters
one of blood and heart
one of heart and law
distance has impoverished
more than our poverty
the distance of heart is quantum
the insurmountable distance of mind
between father and daughter
without motherly intervention
spawned a gulf
where shadows of resentment flash beneath the surface
school and move en masse

Aren’t they all? My daughter graduates from college in a few weeks and moves away. She stayed in the old hometown for college, and so this move away is her first real move away from home. I’ve considered myself in the same category as empty nesters for a couple years, and my daughter considers herself independent, though my wallet disagrees, but I’m very happy I’ve had so much time with her. I never had sisters, my mother and I were never close, so my daughter and I learned a lot from each other. I’m so thankful we have had all this time. She has been so good for me, and I will miss her only being a few minutes away at most.

We moved in here, to our current residence, almost 21 years ago to the day. My daughter was 11 months old then. The house didn’t have A/C, central heating, or anything but a lone palm tree, an undernourished pomegranate tree, and a spindly ornamental orange tree in the front yard. It is pretty lush now. The house has 600 square ft more now than it did then. It now has a roof deck, a flagstone patio, and a sprinkler system. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve ever lived anywhere in my life. This home is the only one my daughter remembers. This house has become home in a sense that rivals my childhood home, a family farm, and the land there to which I still feel a nearly visceral connection.

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About Me

I have written and published many blogs over the last 15 years on the topics of Later Born Baby Boomers, Peace & Justice Activism, Virtual Worlds, Gene Stratton-Porter, and Medical Child Abuse. I love research, information and the quest for knowledge. I'm an anthropologist by training, and a freelance content creator by vocation. I love things that make sense, could be, and might be so I enjoy good speculative fiction along the lines of Cory Doctorow and TV shows like Dr. Who and Orphan Black.